This invention relates to light emitting semiconductor mounts for supporting and protecting light emitting semiconductor devices, e.g., semiconductor injection lasers and light emitting diodes, for their useful operation.
There are known in the art many schemes and examples for supporting light emitting devices providing for their accurate alignment and heat sinking. Examples of such mounts are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,840,889; 4,144,504; 4,351,051 and 4,366,492 and Japanese Publication No. 52-3391 published Nov. 1, 1977. All these mounts involve a number of different components, including their proper fitting and alignment, making these mounts costly and time consuming in their fabrication and adjustment.
A simpler design for a light emitting semiconductor device known in the prior art is shown in FIG. 1. The mount 10 comprises a copper heat sink 12 having a top portion comprising three steps 14, 16 and 18 providing three separate surfaces of different elevation. The central surface 16 has mounted thereon via, e.g., indium, a light emitting semiconductor device in the form of injection laser 20. The lower step 18 has mounted thereon an insulating block 22 with a stair step 24 on its top surface, which surface includes a deposited metal film 26. Block 22 is secured in step 18 by means of a conventional epoxy type adhesive. The top portion of step 24 has connection terminal 28 secured to the metal film 26 by means of conventional solder or fusion welding.
The laser 20 has its metalized contact 21 ellectrically connected to metal film 26 of block 22 by means of the fine wire 30, wire 30 being respectively soldered to metalization 21 and metal film 24. The heat sink and mount support 12 provides per se one terminal connection to laser 20 while the other is provided by the terminal 28 via metal film 26 and fine wire 30.
While mount 10 provides a relatively simple structure compared to other mounts, such as those in the above-mentioned patents and publication, it does not lend itself to (i) protecting the light emitting semiconductor device and leads to the device during handling of the mount, (ii) hermetically sealing, or (iii) allow for automated testing without potential damage to the light emitting semiconductor device or leads to such a mounted device.